1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel process for enhancing oral hygiene by removing and preventing plaque and calculus which comprises utilizing a mixture of certain amines in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a method for employing mixtures of an alkyl N-betaine and an alkyl, N, N-dimethylamine oxide, more specifically defined hereinbelow, in reducing oral microflora without staining tooth enamel. Further, the invention comprises a novel composition when it is incorporated into a dentifrice.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known that certain mixtures of amines are effective antimicrobials. For instance, the art is aware of certain antimicrobial compositions comprising an alkyl-N-betaine, an alkyl-N-sulfobetaine, an acyl betaine, or an N-alkyl substituted alanine-2-aminopropionic acid or in admixture with an alkyl-N, dihydroxyethyl amine oxide. There is no disclosure therein that the compositions of the art are useful as oral hygiene aids. However, as is further known, the antimicrobial activity of simple, alkyl betaines disclosed for instance in U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,637 is less than one-tenth that of related cationic quaternary ammonium salts. See R. L. Stedman et al, J. Appl. Microbiology, 1,142, (1953). Such a simple betaine alone does not possess any anti-plaque properties. The carboxylate group must be separated from the quaternary nitrogen by as many as 10 methylene groups to confer anti-plaque activity. If a simple betaine could be employed as an oral hygiene additive to avoid staining and minimize plaque formation, such a provision would fulfill a need well recognized in the art.